NshedRana

In his first life, Damien Sterling was nothing but a fool. Naïve, trusting, and constantly manipulated by those around him, he lived his life as a tool—used, discarded, and ultimately forgotten. His kindness was repaid with betrayal, his trust exploited, and his life ended in the most humiliating way: alone, broken, and filled with regret.

But fate had a cruel twist in store.

One evening, as Damien wandered the cold streets in a daze, he saw an old woman trying to cross the road. She had always been kind to him—the only person who showed him any genuine warmth. When a truck came speeding toward him, she shoved him aside and took the hit herself.

She died.

Yet, the moment her body hit the pavement, something impossible happened. Time rewound.

Damien woke up years earlier, in his younger body—but with all the knowledge, pain, and betrayal of his past life intact. And that day, everything changed.

The Devil..

Damien Sterling stood on the rooftop of a high-rise building, overlooking the city bathed in neon lights.

In his past life, he had once admired this view with foolish dreams—dreams of building an empire with the people he trusted.

Now, he only saw opportunities and weaknesses to exploit.

"This time, I won't build an empire with others… I'll build it over them."

The next step in his plan was eliminating all connections to his former self.

The woman who deceived him? Irrelevant.

The business partners who betrayed him? Soon to be ruined.

The old Damien had been too attached. But attachment was a weakness.

This time, he would be untouchable.

But there was one final tie he needed to sever.

Confronting the Only Person Who Cared

As the night deepened, Damien arrived at a small, rundown apartment.

Inside, a young woman sat at a worn-out desk, surrounded by stacks of textbooks.

She was the only person who had ever tried to help him in his past life. The only one who had warned him about Richard. The only one who had stood by his side even when he lost everything.

But he had ignored her. Chased after lies.

And in his past life, she had died because of him.

Clara looked up, surprised. "Damien? You never visit—"

"Because if you stay, you'll die."

Her eyes widened. "Is this another one of your paranoid thoughts?"

Damien's expression remained unreadable.

"No. I've simply calculated the probabilities."

He had already arranged everything—her tuition, her apartment, a new life away from this corrupt city.

She didn't need to be caught in his war.

She didn't need to be another sacrifice.

Clara stepped forward. "Damien, you're scaring me."

For a moment, his cold mask nearly slipped.

"You were the only one who was ever good to me."

She reached for him. "Then why are you pushing me away?"

And with that, Damien Sterling walked away—without looking back.

And so was the fool he used to be.

As Damien stepped into the night, he pulled out his phone.

He dialed a number. A voice answered.

Somewhere in the city, Richard Vaughn's bank accounts were about to be emptied. His debts were about to skyrocket. His entire life was about to collapse.

The First Sacrifice